


Echoes

by Lisbeth_laufeyson



Category: Spartacus Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Past Lives, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-11 09:14:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisbeth_laufeyson/pseuds/Lisbeth_laufeyson
Summary: Have you ever felt a familiarity with someone you have never met or known your way around somewhere you have never been? Nasir gets that feeling now and again. his best friend Naevia has also experienced it and often jokes how they knew each other in a past life but Nasir doesn't believe in such things, not really. But when he travels to Italy and meets two German brothers, one of whom he is sure he knows, all that begins to change, especially when the dreams start.
Relationships: Agron/Nasir
Comments: 28
Kudos: 62





	1. Roma

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired by a gifset on Tumblr by Steorie which has several gifs of the Spartacus characters morphing into more modern characters that the same actors have played. I just knew I had to write a fic about it.
> 
> I hope this works out as well as the idea seems in my head lol. Also, dont know if the title works but I was stuck on it so now it has that name.

It was no longer a dream.

For years Nasir had planned this trip, sometimes scarcely believing it would ever come true, but here he was, landing in Rome. He jumped up eagerly once the plane was at the gate. Passengers chatted with one another as they slowly gathered their things and shuffled off the plane. It seemed to take forever but, finally, they were in the airport and thanks to Nasir's dual Syrian and British nationality, he breezed through the checkpoints, picked up his bags, and made his way to his hotel.

Italy held a fascination for him that he couldn't explain. Whether it was the Roman ruins crowded in with modern buildings, the food, the language he didn't know, all he knew was it had always been a certainty in his head that he was going to Italy after he graduated, so he scrimped and saved and now, here he was.

He wanted to weep. He did! Happy tears as he took in his first sights in the Italian capital.

His schedule was packed. After a brief stop at his hotel to drop off bags and grab a bottle of water, he was off to join his first tour group with his camera slung around his neck. The group was larger than he was expecting and a mix of different languages greeted his ears. Most people seemed to be in pairs or family groups but Nasir slotted happily into the mix. After a few moments he felt eyes on the back of his head. He turned and caught the eye of a tall man with short cropped hair who gave him a small smile. Nasir smiled back and racked his brain for the man's name. He knew him, he was sure of it, and the man seemed to know him too, so what was his name!

It was pushed to the back of his mind once the tour started. The sights of Rome were even better than he imagined, especially the Roman ruins but as the group entered the colosseum, somewhere Nasir had wanted to see since he was a young child, the ground felt a little unsteady under his feet. The tour leader's voice faded in and out as he talked about the battles of the arena and the Gladiators. Nasir stepped off to one side, leaned against a column, and opened his water bottle.

A soft, accented voice spoke to him in broken Italian then tried again in English. He looked up into the eyes of the man who had smiled at him before.

“I'm OK, thank you,” he smiled to assuage the man's fear. “it's been a long day and I don't think I've drunk enough.”

“Walk with us,” the man suggested. “if you need to stop again we will stay with you and make sure you don't miss the group.”

Nasir gratefully accepted the offer and, without exchanging names, rejoined the group.

#

An hour later the tour was over. After leaving the colosseum Nasir's equilibrium had returned, helped along by the litre of water he had drank along the way. He had chatted with his companions on and off through the rest of the tour and had narrowed down where they were from to either Austria or Germany but had not quite reached the stage of asking them questions. As people headed off on their own the three of them hung around awkwardly until the darker haired man of the two Germans suggested they go for a drink.

“Do we know each other?” Nasir asked the man who had smiled at him while his companion was getting their drinks.

“I don't think so,” he frowned. “Do we?”

“I sort of felt like I may have met you before,” Nasir said softly and his gaze fell to the table top. He had felt this way with people before. Some immediately found him weird and left, never to be seen again, others, like his best friend Naevia, loved the idea and talked at length about how they had maybe met in another life.

“Maybe we have met each other before,” the man smiled. “I am Agron and my brother is Duro. Don't ask about the old fashioned names. They are family ones, passed down through generations.” Agron rolled his eyes

Nasir couldn't help but smile. “I'm Nasir.”

Conversation was easy from there, even with the return of Duro. They picked over travels where they could have crossed paths, but Agron and Duro had only visited London once and Nasir had never been to Germany. Nasir's family had left Syria when he was twelve and the brothers had never been farther east than Krakow. No matter how hard they tried and how long the feeling of familiarity persisted they could not find anywhere that their paths could have met, however briefly.

Duro smiled at his brother and spoke quickly in German. It was too fast for Nasir to catch but it caused a flush of heat in Agron's already wine warmed cheeks.

All too soon it was time to leave. Nasir took a few backwards steps from the brothers in the direction of his hotel without fully committing to leaving and they did the same. Conversation lingered between them until the words ran out. After a flurry of German between Duro and Agron Duro rolled his eyes at his brother.

“This was nice,” he said. “Perhaps we can exchange numbers and keep in touch if you are still in Rome?”

Nasir grinned. “Absolutely! I am here for a week then travel on.”

“You hear that, Agron, what a coincidence!” Duro grinned and playfully punched his brothers shoulder. “We are all here for a week.”

Nasir handed over his phone so Duro could enter their numbers. His gaze met Agron's in silence but they both smiled. 

Nasir sent a text to each of the brothers to pass on his number. “Perhaps we shall see you tomorrow?”

Agron's grin widened. “I hope so,

#

All the way back to the hotel Nasir played back the night in his head. No, the feeling wouldn't go away. He knew Agron and while he felt no recognition at Duro's face the name had stirred something in him, like hearing a long forgotten song. 

Was it just that he found Agron handsome and hoped that they had met before? No. There was a connection there. It was faint and frayed but he had felt the strange pull, just like with Naevia and Lugo and other people he had crossed paths with throughout the years. Sometimes it was the comfortable feeling of kinship, like with Naevia, other times inexplicable anger or fear rose up just from seeing someone's face. It was odd but he was used to it now.

The train of thought was getting him nowhere. Nasir sought solace in the fact that not only had Agron acknowledged the strange recognition but had also seemed keen to see him again and climbed into bed, eager for sleep and the hastening of another day in the company of Duro and Agron.


	2. And Old Sweater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron doesn't want to impose on Nasir, who is touring Italy alone, but fate has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, not much to it really. I have some awesome ideas for later on in this fic, its just getting to them.

Agron rolls his eyes. “Enough!” he hissed.

“But you are going to call him, aren't you?”

Agron shrugged then swiped his card over the door lock of the hotel room he shared with Duro. “Maybe. I think he was just being polite since you nearly forced him.”

“'I hope so'” Duro said, mimicking the English words Agron had spoken to Nasir. “Yes, Agron, this was all my doing.”

“Make yourself useful and order room service or something.” Agron tossed the menu to his brother. “I'm taking a shower.”

Duro grinned. “Remember, we both have to share that shower. No thinking of Nasir in there.”

Agron flipped his brother off then headed into the bathroom.

#

What had drawn his eyes to Nasir in the first place was still lost to him. Nasir was a beautiful man, reason enough on its own, but that was what he noticed after he found him in the crowd. No matter how stupid the notion was, Agron could not shake the idea he had been looking for Nasir in the tour group before they had even met.

His family had always been in tune with the idea of past lives and other things that Agron had no time for. Sure, he had dreams that seemed real, and he was a chronic lucid dreamer, but that didn't mean his dreams were indicative of where his soul had been before. He was no gladiator or world war 2 medic, nor had he lived in the early colonies of America, he was a personal trainer and edged weapon specialist from Hanover, no more, no less.

And yet...

No, no and yet! He had simply had a rapport with Nasir from the start, something he had experienced before. When he had mentioned that they could have met before he had meant on other travels. Sure, those possibilities had been exhausted but that didn't mean that, at some point, they had walked past each other or shared a row of chairs in an airport.

Agron stepped from the shower, dried off, then headed into the room he shared with his brother. Duro was reclined on his own bed. He smiled but before he could say anything Agron held up a hand in warning. Duro laughed but nothing was said, just like Agron wanted.

#

The next morning, as they stood in the small crowd waiting for the food tour, Agron felt the magnetic pull on his eyes again. He looked around and already knew who he would see before his eyes landed upon him.

“Nasir!” he said and his lips lifted in a smile.

Nasir's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. “Hi. You are on this tour too?”

Duro immediately launched into happy conversation with Nasir but Agron stayed back and, at first opportunity, whispered to his brother in German that, perhaps, they should not crowd Nasir today, or take up his time. Duro simply sighed and nodded.

#

After the food tour the three of them found themselves on the same boat tour of the Tiber and although Nasir sat in the row behind them and initiated conversation with Duro there was still something off about him. His eyes didn't quite have the same sparkle and his shoulders seemed tense. And yet when Duro invited him to join them for dinner once more he put up a token protest only before accepting.

A couple of glasses of wine later and they found themselves alone once more.

“I'm sorry,” Nasir whispered.

Agron frowned. “Why?”

“This is your holiday with your brother. I should stop intruding.”

“You are not intruding. We both want you to be here.” Agron smiled. “I thought you weren't happy to see us this morning, that's why I have not said much. I wanted to give you a chance to escape.”

Nasir laughed. “No I...” he cheeks flushed and he tucked a lock of jet black hair back behind his ear. “I didn't want you to think I was following you or anything, plus...” he trailed off and blushed a deeper shade of red.

“Go ahead, you can say it,” Agron said softly.

“You don't know what I was going to say. You might not want to hear it.”

Agron shrugged. “It can't be that bad if you were going to tell me before.”

Nasir glanced over at the bar. Agron followed his gaze. Duro was in a quick fire, gesture filled conversation in a mix of Italian and German with some fellow football fans and showed no signs of return. Agron shook his head, laughing, and turned back to Nasir.

“I had a dream about you. Nothing sexual,” Nasir added quickly and waved his hands as if to dismiss the idea altogether. “But it made me feel a little strange when I saw you again.”

Agron leaned in and placed his folded arms on the table. “Was it a nice dream at least?”

“It was,” Nasir fell into the same posture. “Nothing really happened though,”

“Sometimes those are the best dreams.”

Nasir smiled. “It was really lovely actually. We were sitting high up on a wall and the sun was setting. We could see for miles over hills and fields.”

Agron smiled. Nasir had a faraway look in his eyes and a gentle smile on his face, His voice dropped to almost a whisper as if he was talking to himself.

“We were talking about.... I don't remember what, but it felt...good, happy. Like-”  
Nasir jerked back as Duro rejoined the table and Agron only realised their hands had been touching due to the absence of it now. His own face flushed but his brother didn't seem to notice, too concerned with getting his own story out, even if it was mostly in German due to how drunk he was.

Across the table, Agron met Nasir's eye. Nasir's face was deeply flushed but he smiled. Agron returned it. Warmth spread in his chest, not the tingling excitement of new attraction but something cosy, comfortable, like a favourite sweater. 

Past lives were not a real thing, no matter how much Duro wanted to tell him that's how he and Nasir had such a connection so quick. There was a connection there though, a powerful one and, after the year Agron had experienced, he was more than happy to explore just how connected he and Nasir were.


	3. A brief touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a particularly racy dream, Nasir finds himself spending the day alone with the star of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short and tbh I don't like it all that much, but it is getting me to the next bit of the story so it serves its purpose

Nasir awoke with the feel of rough stone still at his back, soft lips upon his, and his hands in his shorts. He barely paused as he brought the pleasure into the waking world with him, and it was only moments later, when the haze of orgasm was slipping away, that the implications of the dream hit him.

He had dreamed the same thing many times but never so realistically. He could smell the earthy tones of the stone that were around them and of the torches that lit the rooms. He could feel the heat from the skin of his lover, and, for the first time, he saw his lovers face clearly.

It had been hard enough facing Agron after just dreaming about chatting with the man, how was he supposed to spend time with them now that he had fantasised about him?

He dragged himself from bed, showered, secured his hair back in his usual half-up, braid, and got dressed for another day touring the city with his unexpected friends. Agron had noticed his mood yesterday so he had to put a brave face on things today. There was no way Agron was going to have a favourable reaction to hearing someone he had known for two days had had a sex dream about him. 

Well, it wasn't quite a sex dream, more a kissing and touching dream, but that was bad enough!

When he met up with the tour group he found Agron standing a little bit apart and on his own. He smiled and waved and Nasir fixed his face into a warm smile as he headed over.

“No Duro today?” he asked.

Agron shook his head. “He has no interest in art galleries so he is meeting some friends he met last night.”

“Friends? You mean people he was speaking to in the bar?”

“Yes,” Agron grinned. “he has never struggled to make friends. So, it will just be you and me today, if that's okay?”

Nasir nodded as he fought for words that hit the sweet spot between enthusiastic and not bothered. “Okay with me,” he said with a smile.

#

There was a lot more silence without Duro.

It was not uncomfortable though. They listened to the guide, they wandered among paintings and sculptures only speaking to one another in hushed tones when they had something to say. Despite his worries at not being able to face the man after dreaming about him there was just something comfortable about being with him, especially when it was just the two of them.

Eventually, the tour ended but rather than parting from each others company they went for gelato and then wandered the city together with not much thought to doing anything but wandering together in the same comfortable silence they had shared in the the galleries.

Every time they walked into one another or their fingers brushed their eyes met and they shared a soft laugh. Nasir's heart fluttered on each occasion but Agron never said a word nor gave any other indication about how he felt.

“We are going to Capua tomorrow,” Agron said as they shared a pizza in a cosy little restaurant.

“Ah, on the trail of Spartacus?” Nasir said and although he smiled he felt a brief tinge of sadness. 

“I guess our luck has not extended beyond a few days and you too are heading there?” Agron looked down into his wine as he spoke.

Nasir swallowed so hard he heard his throat click. No, he was not going to Capua. It wasn't that the legend of Spartacus didn't interest him but that the feelings the whole story kicked up were too...strange. 

“Ah, I guess not,” Agron forced a smile and picked up another slice of pizza. “We'll be away all day, but maybe we can go for a drink once we return?”

Nasir nodded absent-mindedly. “That would be nice.” he jumped as Agron touched his wrist. “Sorry. I'd love to go for a drink with you tomorrow.”

Agron frowned. “That's two nights now you have gone quiet on me. Should I worry?”

Nasir chewed his lip. “It's not you, honestly. I... I feel like I am taking you away from your brother, or getting in the way of your holiday.”

“You're not,” Agron whispered. His fingers lightly brushed Nasir's. “Duro likes you. He's actually been encouraging me to spend more time with you on my own.” Agron's hand stilled and his cheeks flushed. “Apologies.”

“No, I...” Nasir trailed off as words failed him but forced himself to take Agron's hand, to finally believe all the signs he had been getting from the taller man over the course of the day. 

Agron looked at him in surprise then his expression softened. He gave Nasir's hand a squeeze but words seemed to fail him too as they looked at each other in the soft light of the restaurant. A flicker of his dream passed through Nasir's mind, of Agron in a similar, softly flickering light, his face close as he leaned in, breath panting between parted lips as they kissed again and again. Would Agron's hair feel the same as it did in his dream? What about his lips?

“I'm sorry but I should get back to my hotel. We leave early tomorrow,” Agron whispered. “But tomorrow night, yes?”

Nasir smiled. “Can't wait. I'll walk with you back to your hotel if that's okay?”

“I'd love that.”

They paid their bill and left the restaurant. As soon as they were outside Agron took Nasir's hand once more and meshed their fingers together. Warmth flooded Nasir, like a comforting blanket on a cold day. He briefly rested his head against Agron's arm as they walked.

They reached Agron's hotel all too soon but stood for a moment together, both hands now entwined.

“I should go,” Agron said for the third time.

Nasir nodded. “You should.” He grinned when neither of them made a move.

Agron's smiled faded. His large hand gently cupped Nasir's cheek. Nasir tilted his head up as Agron leaned in. Their lips met softly and only for a moment but Nasir couldn't suppress his grin.

“And now I really have to go,” Agron whispered. He kissed Nasir again then slowly untangled from him. “Tomorrow though. I'll call you when we get back.”

Nasir nodded. “I'll be waiting.”

He remained in the street until Agron was long gone into the hotel. He turned away and walked back to his own hotel with a spring in his step and the memory of Agron's lips still against his.


	4. Blood and sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Duro make their way to Capua but the day doesn't go as planned.

“You look happy,” Duro said as he entered the hotel room.

“And you're back early and not pissed like I thought,” Agron said with a laugh.

Duro shrugged. “There is only so much coffee, food, and wine one man can put away in one day. Plus, I don't want to be hungover on that drive tomorrow.” He threw himself down on his bed and folded his arms behind his head on the pillow. “How did your date with Nasir go?”

“It wasn't a date,” Agron said but the heat rose in his cheeks all the time.

Duro rolled his eyes. “Don't tell me he isn't into you?! I was so sure. Maybe my English is not as good as I thought.”

“Your English is fine. I hadn't planned it as a date, but by the end of the night..” he trailed off and grinned.

Duro sat up. “You did not!” he laughed.

“It was just a kiss, and not even much of one. Just testing the water, you know?” 

“And he kissed you back?”

“Yeah, and we were holding hands in the restaurant and when we walked back to the hotel.”

Duro laughed. “Agron, are you telling me that after nearly a year single you ended the night with someone who actually likes you after a little kiss?”

“We are only here four more days, and one of those days we aren't even going to be spending with him.” Agron sighed. “I don't want it to be too much too fast.”

“The fact you have only three more days together is exactly why you should be seeing exactly where this goes.”

Agron pulled a face. “If we like each other we will keep in touch when we both go home, and England isn't that far away.”

Duro laughed. “Already planning on flying over to see him. Must be serious.”

“Shut up, you fuck,” Agron laughed and hit his brother hard across the chest with a pillow.

Duro made a noise like all the wind was forced from his lungs then curled up, feigning injury. Agron knew better than to believe him. The next second, Duro was returning attack with his own pillow and catching Agron in the face. They traded blows and laughter for a few moments before Duro ran to the bathroom claiming a sudden need to get ready for bed.

In the silence that followed Agron turned the TV on. His attention kept being drawn to his phone. It was flashing with a notification he had missed. It was from Nasir.

Thank you for today. I hope you and Duro have fun tomorrow.

He had ended the message with a smiling emoji. Agron couldn't keep the grin off his face. 

Thank you too. This trip would not have been so much fun without you. 

Duro seems fun though?

He is annoying. I love him but that's the truth.

There was a pause in the replies long enough for Agron to worry about what he had written but his phone pinged just as he was writing another text.

All brothers are annoying, it's their job. Another smiley ended the text.

Agron sighed, relieved that using his second language to text was working just fine for him. Tomorrow I would like to take you on a proper date, now that we both know we like each other. We can do anything you like.

We'll wait and see how late you both get back tomorrow, then we can plan something?

Agron chewed his lip. Was Nasir blowing hot and cold with him or was he struggling to pick up the nuances of English from a native speaker?

We can meet up the next day if you like? He said and tried to seem like it was no big deal.

Oh I didn't mean I didn't want to see you. I just don't want you to feel you have to rush back for me when you and your brother have the day planned. I really want to see you again tomorrow if there is time.

In that case I shall call you tomorrow when we are heading back into Rome

I look forward to it.

Agron put his phone back down as Duro emerged from the bathroom but by the look on his brothers face was proof he had moved too late.

“Was that your boyfriend texting you?” he jeered.

“Fuck off, Shithead!” Agron hissed.

Duro laughed but he made no other comments. They both got into their beds, turned the light off, and tried to get some sleep for the next day.

#

Agron was no slouch when it came to driving and the two hour long trip to Capua barely came into his top ten of driving trips for length or difficulty. So why was there a tight feeling in his chest and a cold sweat on his brow.

Duro was uncharacteristically quiet as he read over the map. “I don't think any of these sites are actually from the time of Spartacus.”

“Do you want to turn back?” Agron asked and secretly hoped the answer would be yes.

“No. This is one of the places in the legends. We should see something of it.”

Agron rolled his eyes. “They are just stories, Duro.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because that's what a legend is!” Agron snapped. “And if the legend is true then how does a gay man have descendants?”

“He could have had children!”

Agron shook his head. “None are ever mentioned. There is just Agron and Duro, who mysteriously disappears from the legend towards the end and with no reason, and then this big love story with Agron and Nasir and no mention about how they apparently have descendants. Stop looking at me like that. I heard it.”

“Have you ever asked your Nasir if he is Syrian?” Duro asked in a serious tone.

“He's from London. And he's not my Nasir.” The tightness in Agron's chest increased when he saw the sign for the turn off to the arena and only got worse as he took the road.

“It's just such a weird coincidence,” Duro mused to himself.

Agron pulled into the side of the road and stopped. “Do you actually think you are this Duro from all these stories our grandfather told us?”

Duro's eyes darted about for a moment. “Are you telling me you don't think there is something in it?”

“No!” Agron snapped. “Because you forget that if every pair of sons in our family are called Agron and Duro because we hold their souls then how do you explain Dad still being alive when you are? Are you both Duro? Or Grandfather being alive with me? Or our cousins in Australia or our uncle in Denmark? All Agrons, all Duro's, and yet, by the family legend, we all carry the souls of these ancient German dudes who also happen to be lesser known members of the army of the most famous gladiator in history!”

“Don't you dream like I do?” Duro hissed.

“It's just dreams! It means nothing except we have over active imaginations and, in your case, you'll believe any old shit!”

“Then why the fuck did you come here if you think the whole thing is bullshit!” Duro yelled. He yanked off his seatbelt and got out of the car. 

Agron rolled his eyes and allowed Duro to walk on a bit before following in the car. “Get in!”

“Fuck you, Agron!”

“I'm going to the arena, you might as well get in instead of walking.”

Duro took a few more steps before swearing loudly and getting back into the car. “If you don't fucking believe in all this stuff then what is the point in coming here?”

Agron shrugged. “I like history and its an interesting family story but we are not the reincarnated souls of those men. If you want to believe that that's fine but you can't force me to.”

Duro opened his mouth as if to reply then appeared to think better of it. “Fine. Can we just go?”

Agron pulled back out into the road and tried to ignore the growing burning in his chest. He took a few controlled breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth but the tightness didn't release. The ruins of the arena came into view and Agron parked in one of the spaces in its shadow. Not much of it was left but enough to draw peoples attentions. Agron left the car first but Duro followed not long after.

Agron's heart pounded in his chest. He turned sharply at a noise only to find nothing there. Duro too seemed to be looking around a bit more sharply than simple observation needed. With silent yet reluctant agreement, the brothers headed into the bowels of the arena. Agron's nose wrinkled as an acrid scent filled it. Duro, though his eyes still darted around, seemed not to notice the smell.

“This place is creepy,” Duro whispered.

Agron nodded, relieved his brother had voiced it first. “Do you want to leave?”

“We've barely seen any of this place,” Duro said, his voice barely audible. “but I don't think I want to.”

Agron quickly turned to lead the way out and swerved hard as a huge man barrelled towards him. “Watch it!” he shouted in English.

Duro stared at him. “What did I do now?”

“Not you, that...” Agron trailed off. No matter where he looked there was no sign of the big man who had shoved passed him.

Duro touched his arm. “Agron?”

Agron shook his head to clear it. “Let's go. Maybe the city itself will be better.”

The brothers headed out of the arena as fast as they could without looking suspicious. Agron's hands shook on the wheel as he started to drive away but, as they reached the main road once more he found himself taking another turning.

“Where are you going?” Duro hissed. “The city is the other way.”

Agron couldn't speak. He had no idea what was at the end of the road but he knew he had to go there, everything in his soul was driving him to it. The road passed through a small village but Agron carried on driving until there was no more village and then no more road, and then no more land at all.

He stopped the car a few feet away from the cliff edge and got out. There was something here, a vague suggestion of a building hugging the cliff edge if the low walls were anything to go by. 

Duro grabbed his wrist. “You're scaring me now, Agron.”

“I... I have...” Agron trailed off and looked at the building. He pulled out of Duro's grasp and wandered into the remains of the building. 

What was left was barely two feet in height but Agron felt the rest. The two storey villa. The training yard, the cells in the lower levels. The scent of men and sun scorched skin, sweat and sand and one thing overpowering the rest. 

Blood.

Agron's hands shook even when he had balled them into fists. Noises swirled around him as confetti snatches of images flicked passed his eyes. Metal clanged near his side, causing him to jump and lash out but there was no one there except for he and Duro.

“Lets go!” Duro shouted. He pawed at his ribs on his left hand side. “I don't know what's going on but I don't feel well now either. Can we go back to Rome, please!”

Agron stared, dumbfounded, as blood seeped through his brothers fingers. “Duro!” he screamed and ran towards him.

#

Agron gasped and sat bolt upright. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did he recognised the room back in Rome and Duro sitting in the bed beside him.

“What are you doing in my bed?” he frowned. 

Duro shook his head sadly. “You don't remember anything, do you?”

Fragments floated past his eyes but not enough for Agron to grab onto. “No, what happened?”

Duro leaned over and switched the lamp on. His face was blotchy and red as if he had been crying. “You drove us out to this clifftop near Capua and went into these...ruins I guess they were. You wouldn't speak to me or look at me, until you did and you freaked out. You wouldn't stop crying or shouting my name. I managed to calm you down and got you into the car.” Duro wearily rubbed his face. “All the way back here you were talking but I couldn't understand a word. I got you back here and you started crying again and didn't stop until you fell asleep.”

Agron sought for any memory for what had happened but couldn't find anything. “I'm so sorry. I don't have a clue what happened.”

“It's okay,” Duro whispered. His voice trembled. “I'm just glad you're better now. I was starting to wonder if I should have called an ambulance or something.”

“No! Don't do that!” Agron hissed. “There's nothing wrong with me. It was just...”

Duro waited a moment before pressing him. “Just what?”

Agron shrugged. “The heat? Maybe all the wine lately? A combo of both? But I'm fine now.”

Duro nodded wearily. “Your phone has gone a couple of times. I didn't check it but it was probably Nasir.”

“Shit, Nasir!” Agron grabbed his phone and, sure enough, Nasir had left two messages asking if everything was okay.

“It's four am. Reply to him in a few hours when you can think of a believable story.”

Agron nodded and put his phone back on the little shelf beside the bed. “I really am sorry, Duro.”

“It's okay. I didn't feel too good today either. Maybe you're right about all the drink and stuff.” Duro crossed the room and got into his own bed. “Try to sleep some more.”

Agron nodded and lay back down. Whatever had bothered him earlier in Capua had long gone now and he could only hope his dreams, if he had any, stayed just as empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I am still not sure about the placement of this chapter in the order of this story. I keep flip flopping on how much I wanted Agron and Nasir to be involved before something like this happened but I think I have it figured out.
> 
> Hold on, folks. It's gonna get weird from here on out.


	5. A thousand times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir finally hears from Agron. Something is wrong but the man doesn't want to talk and Nasir cannot force him. Despite his quieter mood Agron seems intent on making one thing clear. He feels this, whatever it is, between them just as deeply as Nasir does.

There was still no contact from Agron.

It was early of course, barely seven am, but he had not called or responded to texts the previous night either and Nasir couldn't shake the fact that something may have happened to the brothers. He picked up his phone for the thousandth time and tried to will a message to come through.

His phone rang.

Nasir recovered from the shock in time to stop himself dropping the phone and answered. “Agron?”

“I'm sorry,” Agron said. “The day got away from us yesterday. By the time I was able to call you it was already four am.”

“What are you doing awake at this hour if you were up at four am?”

Agron paused. Barely audible German drifted down the line as he and Duro spoke. “Couldn't sleep,” Agron said softly. 

He did sound weary but there was something else in his voice that sent chains around Nasir's chest. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It was... It was a long day. Lots of walking, not enough water. I think we both got heatstroke.” Agron cleared his throat. “So... I know its many hours too late but would you still like to spend some time together? How about breakfast, my treat?”

“I'd love to, but is your brother okay?”

“Oh he's fine,” Agron said a little too quickly. “He is going to call his friends today and spend time with them.”

Nasir chewed his lip as he warred between desire to see Agron again and worry that Duro wasn't actually okay. “Breakfast sounds nice,” he finally said.

“Excellent. How about we meet in an hour at the little cafe near your hotel. The one with the white tables?”

“I know the one. I will see you then.”

They hung up the call and Nasir looked at his screen for a moment. Something was definitely wrong with Agron and it wasn't just tiredness. Maybe he was still sick after the heat stroke? Nasir pushed the worries to the back of his mind while he showered and dressed. There was no point in thinking about it when he had to wait to see Agron to get answers.

#

Agron was waiting outside when Nasir walked up. He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes then leaned in to kiss Nasir gently on the lips. Nasir blushed.

“Sorry,” Agron whispered. “I shouldn't hav--”

“We've kissed before, it's fine,” Nasir said and waved it off like it wasn't a big deal even though he felt giggly.   
“Good to know,” Agron said. His tone was a little flat, and his smile still didn't have the same sparkle it had in previous days, but he was clearly making an effort with gentle conversation.

They chose a table away from the small amount of other people sitting in the pavement cafe area and sat close together. Agron handed him a menu and then opened his own. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves Nasir reached out under the table and rested his hand on Agron's knee. He kept his eyes on the menu but caught Agron glancing at him for a moment before his large hand covered Nasir's.

“Get whatever you like,” Agron said softly. “My treat.”

“Thanks.” Nasir squeezed Agron's knee under the table. “It'll be my treat next time.”

They ordered their breakfast when the waitress appeared at their table. When she left they once again lapsed into a comfortable silence like they had been sitting down to breakfast together for years.

“How are you feeling?” Nasir finally asked.

Agron frowned, confused. “Oh! The heatstroke? I feel fine. A little tired still.”

Nasir watched him for a moment. Something was definitely wrong with Agron, something more than heatstroke. But Agron clearly didn't want to tell him and Nasir didn't really know him well enough to push, so he let the silence slip over them once more.

The food arrived. They ate and made small talk over how good it was and shared little bits of their own meals with each other and although Agron kept up the veneer of happiness there was something dark below the surface. Nasir took his hand once more as they both finished their meal and looked into Agron's eyes. They were strikingly green.

“You can tell me to shut up if you want but something is wrong, isn't it?”

Agron laughed a little. “Am I that transparent?”

Nasir stroked the back of Agron's hand with his thumb. “You seem sad, that's all. Is everything ok?”

Agron took a deep breath. “I still feel a little under the weather,” he admitted.

“Maybe you should go back to your hotel, sleep it off?”

“I want to spend time with you,” Agron said firmly. “We only have a few more days left until Duro and I go home and I want to spend as much of it as I can with you.” He blushed and looked away. “Sorry. That was a little too much.”

“No. it...” Nasir trailed off as he struggled for the right words. “I want to spend as much time as I can with you too, but not at the expense of your health.”

Agron smiled. This time it did reach his eyes. “Thank you, but I do feel better than I did yesterday. Your company is helping. Speaking of, do you have plans for the rest of the day?”

Nasir thought over the painting class he had, the cheese tasting, and the concert in the evening. “Not a thing,” he replied.

#

Nasir knew the city like the back of his hand after so many tours as well as wandering around under his own steam or with Agron, but everything seemed new now that he was walking the same streets with Agron's hand in his. The wine tasted better. The food seemed more flavourful. The world more rich in colour. Agron's mood lifted as the day wore on, but every so often Nasir caught him staring at nothing, his brows furrowed in concern. His smile quickly lifted when he noticed Nasir staring.

Every so often Agron apologised and sent texts to his brother. Nasir assured him again and again that he was fine with it and asked if Duro wanted to join them but the answer was always the same. His brother was fine, better than fine, halfway to drunk and enjoying spending time with his new friends. Nasir chewed his lip. Had he and his brother fallen out? 

Agron never broached the subject again and Nasir couldn't quite bring himself to ask, afraid he was the cause.

By the time the sun was setting they found themselves in a rooftop bar and chose a table in the back corner that had two couches rather than chairs. Nasir sat down and grinned when Agron chose to sit beside him rather than across the table on the other couch. He sat close in the shadow of Agron's arm which lay along the top. 

“Gorgeous view,” he whispered. The quiet, cosy atmosphere in the bar made anything louder seem rude.

“Even better with the sun setting,” Agron said. 

Nasir thought about asking Agron about inviting Duro along but it wasn't the place, not with all the couples sitting together at candlelit tables or swaying in each others arms on the dance floor to the soft music. He swallowed down his guilt about it. Duro was probably having the time of his life with his friends.

They both jumped as Nasir's phone vibrated against the table top. He picked it up, whispering apologies, and answered it.

“Well, what excuse did he have?” Naevia snapped before Nasir could even say hello.

Nasir leaned forward and lowered his voice even more. “Can we talk later, please?”

“Why? Are you okay? What's happening?” Suddenly her panic faded away. “Oh! Are you with him now?”

Nasir risk a glance back at Agron who was gazing out over the bar. “Yeah, I am.”

Naevia giggled. “So everything is okay between you both?”

With Agron's attention elsewhere, Nasir indulged in drinking in every little detail about him, from his bright green eyes to muscled torso barely concealed by his t-shirt. “Everything is just peachy between us.”

“In that case I will leave you to it. But I want details! Okay. You call me when you get a moment.”

Nasir promised her he would and said his goodbyes. Agron smiled warmly.

“Sorry about that,” Nasir said. “It was my best friend. When you didn't reply last night I had told her I was a little worried.” He blushed. That probably wasn't the right thing to say.

“Apologies.” Agron squeezed his shoulder. “By the time I was able to text or call it was far too early.”

Nasir smiled and dismissed Agron's words with a wave of his hand. “It's honestly not a problem. I'm still not entirely sure you are okay though.”

“Being with you today has been exactly what I needed.” Agron's expression seemed serious all of a sudden. “Being with you is...” he looked away as he sought the words he needed. “like finding an old friend in the body of a stranger.” he rolled his eyes. “No, that's not..”

“I think its a perfect way to describe it,” Nasir said with a smile.

“You don't need to say that.” Agron grinned. 

“I'm not. It's what it feels like, right? We have spent so long together and I've never asked you the questions I normally would because it feels like I know the answers.”

Something darkened Agron's expression but it was there and gone again. “I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. That would be weird.”

They both laughed. Agron's arm slowly slide down from the back of the couch to rest around Nasir's shoulders. Nasir leaned in and rested his head against Agron's collarbone. Anticipation coiled in his stomach, but it didn't feel like it had with others. This, while exciting, didn't feel new. The weight of Agron's arm on his shoulders was familiar, as was the steady rise and fall of his chest against his side, and when Agron's lips brushed against his hair it seemed like something he had done a thousand times.

Nasir turned to look at Agron and felt his stomach flip at the sight of his kind eyes and warm smile. Agron's fingers gently brushed his cheek and neck before combing through the loose sections of his hair. 

“It feels like a lifetime I have gazed into your eyes,” Agron whispered. “A thousand times I have kissed your lips.”

Nasir blushed. “It's only been twice,” he said and then rolled his eyes. It had sounded better in his head.

Agron grinned. “Maybe we should change that?”

Nasir tilted his head up as Agron leaned in closer. Their lips met as softly as they had the last two times they had kissed, but soon Agron's lips parted and Nasir followed his lead. Nasir sighed as they kiss deepened. Agron cradled the back of his head, holding him close as his kiss became more forceful, hungry. 

Someone cleared their throat nearby and they quickly untangled. The waitress threw them a smile, quickly quieting any fears they had that they had upset her or anyone else, and place their drinks on the table.

Nasir couldn't help but giggle once she had left.

“Maybe we should be kissing like that in a bar,” Agron giggled.

Nasir gestured to the other customers. “Why not, everyone else is.”

“Hmm, you're right,” Agron purred. He nuzzled Nasir's nose with his and kissed him again. 

“We can go somewhere quieter if you prefer,” Nasir said before his brain had fully engaged. “No pressure. This is technically our second date after all.”

“Where did you have in mind?” Agron said, a smirk spread over his lips.

Nasir took a deep breath to slow his heart but it didn't help. “My room?”

Agron seemed surprised but quickly covered it. “I think that is a great idea.”

Before his nerves could get the better of him Nasir downed his drink, stood up and offered his hand to Agron. “Shall we go then?”

Agron's large, warm, hand closed around his. His eyes were full of barely concealed hunger. “Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wish I had planned this out better before I began as the order still seems a little off. It is slowly going the way i want though. I hope you guys are enjoying this so far.


	6. too soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron accepts the invitation back to Nasir's hotel room, but what will happen when they are stuck in a weird limbo between only knowing each other a few days but also knowing they have limited time in each others company.
> 
> And there is also the little matter of feeling like they have know each other for years...

The walk back to the hotel was simultaneously too long and no where near enough time for Agron to prepare himself. He held Nasir's hand, comforted a little by the nervous tremors in it, and tried to stop his mind racing through every possibility that going to Nasir's hotel room could offer.

The chances that Nasir had invited him back to sleep with him were slim. They had only kissed a few times, and only once with any kind of passion to it. But the way they had spoken and the fact they were facing a ticking clock could change everything. Agron chewed his lip. He was not in the habit of carrying protection after so long in a relationship and the past year of singledom had not changed that habit meaning he was woefully unprepared. But if Nasir was inviting him back then maybe he was?

“We're here,” Nasir said softly, intruding in Agron's quickly spiralling thoughts. A question remained unsaid on his lips but it was easy enough to guess the words.

“I can't wait to see what your room looks like,” Agron grinned.

His comment had the desired affect. Nasir smiled back and led him inside. The air seemed alive with anticipation. It was plain in Nasir's dark eyes too, the desire, the nerves but at the same time there was a look he gave every so often, as if something, for a moment, seemed delightfully strange to him.

Agron maybe gave the same look himself. In one breath Nasir was an exciting stranger he found intoxicating, the next he had an inexplicable feeling of knowing Nasir in every possible way someone could know another, and in those moments the warmth behind his ribs was all consuming and dangerous words waited on the tip of his tongue.

As soon as the elevator reached the correct floor they walked as quickly as they could without running to Nasir's room. Nasir fumbled with his key card, picked it up, then managed to ping it away. Agron laughed, picked up the card, and handed it to a smiling, red faced Nasir who finally unlocked it. When the door closed once more behind them they fell into each others arms. Agron pressed Nasir up against the door and his hands found their way into Nasir's hair. Nasir sighed into the kiss, his own fingers tracing slow forming circles over Agron's sides.

Agron braced himself against the door while his other hand remained deep in Nasir's hair. He flinched back. The surface under his hand was not wood at all but worn stone.

“Are you alright? Nasir whispered. He gently touched Agron's cheek.

With effort, Agron dragged his eyes away from the door, which was definitely a door and not the stone wall his hand had tricked him into believing was there. “Perfectly,” he purred.

Nasir moved away from the door and led Agron by the hands over to the bed. “You're too tall,” he grinned.

“Maybe you are too small?” Agron joked back.

Nasir kicked his boots off . “In height, maybe.” He winked

The grin he threw sent shivers through Agron. He sat down on the bed when Nasir bid him. Nasir straddled his thighs and kissed him once more. They fell back onto the bed, hands roaming freely over each others bodies, teeth catching lips, nails raking over skin. Agron slid his hands under Nasir's shirt and pulled him closer before rolling them over so he was on top. His hips fit snugly between Nasir's parted thighs, like he belonged there and he rolled his hips under the influence of Nasir's grip upon his ass.

Agron's cock strained against his zip, aching for release. His whole body thrummed with pleasure which only increased with each thrust of his hips. Nasir writhed under him and moaned into his mouth.

The hotel sheets bunched in his hand suddenly grew scratchy. He broke the kiss and turned his attention to Nasir's neck while casting an eye over the bed. The sheets, though rumpled with their movements, were still starchy white. Agron shook his head and turned his attention back to the soft skin of Nasir's neck.

Heat pooled deep in Agron's belly. He thrust harder against Nasir, the friction from his clothes sending bolts of pleasure through him. Nasir grabbed his ass. His hips moved faster, rubbing himself against Agron as he pulled him closer. He arched up as a moan loosed from his throat. Everything flickered before Agron's eyes. One minute, Nasir was a beautiful mess under him, t-shirt rolled up and exposing his flat belly, hair a mess of curls that had fallen loose from his braid, the next he was naked apart from an arm band fixed snugly around his bicep and a necklace with--

Agron shook his head to clear the images as Nasir's moan rose loudly around them. Agron's thrusts fell out of time as pleasure surged through him and sang along his veins. He covered Nasir's mouth with his, stifling another moan.

Nasir's whole body stiffened under him. Agron pulled back , his eyes searching Nasir's face for what was wrong but at he saw was the heat flooding face and his eyebrows drawing down in a frown as his teeth clenched tightly together. Agron thrust forward again, drawing a loud cry from Nasir and whispered apologies.

Agron added his own voice to Nasir's as his orgasm rushed up on him. They rocked together, pulling at each others clothes, teeth nipping at already bruised lips, until the heat died away in a fuzzy, dizzy warmth and they found each others mouths with more care.

“What are you laughing at?” Agron mumbled against Nasir's lips when he wouldn't stop giggling.

“I'm embarrassed, okay?” he tapped Agron's cheek in a playful parody of a slap.

“Why?”

Nasir rolled his eyes. “We didn't even get as far as getting undressed.”

Agron grinned. “Take it as a compliment. I am.” He kissed Nasir once more before rolling to lie by his side. “It's been a long time for you too then?”

Nasir's laugh sounded forced. “The longest.”

Agron touched Nasir's jaw and gently turned his face toward him. “Are you okay?”

Nasir nodded. “Sorry I... I don't really know what to do now.”

“Well,” Agron rested his head on his upturned hand. “We can do whatever you wish.”

Nasir seemed to think for a moment. His eyes flicked away then back to Agron. “Stay with me,” he whispered. For the first time in the days he had known Nasir he seemed small, vulnerable.

“I have already agreed to that.” Agron brushed his hand through Nasir's hair.

“I mean overnight,” Nasir blushed. “I can't promise what will happen tonight, I mean anything more tha--”

Agron gently placed his hand over Nasir's mouth. “Just sleeping by your side is more than I ever hoped for.”

“Where on earth did you come from,” Nasir said, and a smile slowly spread over his face.

Agron frowned. “Germany. I already told you that, didn't I?”

Nasir laughed loudly. “You really are one of a kind,” he said as his laughter subsided.

Apart from an ancient version of me who keeps feeding me odd visions at the worst times, Agron thought, but out loud he only smiled and said, “That's me, a true original.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not happy with the chapter. Its short, it took too long to write, and nothing much happens. Eh, it'll lead into the next bit i guess.


	7. Losing my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snuggling with Nasir is nice, better than nice, but it does nothing to keep Agron's visions, nor the fear and anxiety they kick up, at bay.

It was fine. Everything was just...fine.

They lay together on Nasir's bed, Agron's head on Nasir's shoulder and nose pressed to the curve of his neck, their arms loosely draped over one another. Nasir's lips occasionally fell against his forehead and his nails scraped lightly against his scalp, a thing which, in normal circumstances would have had Agron all over Nasir, but things were far from normal.

The visions would not stop!

They were still just flashes. One minute he could plainly see Nasir was dressed in the jeans and shirt he had seen him in all day, the next he was naked. The lighting was all wrong too. Smells drifted by too, like snuffed candles, leather, and a dusty scent that was similar to the smell inside some of the old stone houses they had come across. Everything was there one minute and and gone the next, fragments of a whole he could not piece together.

“You okay in there?” Nasir said, his voice full of warmth.

Agron nodded though his heart thudded in his chest and it was getting hard to breathe. “Perfectly. I love to cuddle.”

Nasir's arms tightened around him. “Me too. A kiss would be nice too.”

Agron raised his head and forced a smile.”What cruel person could deny such a request.”

They kissed. Nasir cupped Agron's face in his hands as his tongue probed against Agron's lips. Agron grinned into the kiss and allowed Nasir to push him into the bed and settle over him. This was what he needed. To lose himself with the most beautiful, sweet man he had ever met. He slid his hands down Nasir's back until he reached the waistband of his jeans then swept his hands back and under Nasir's shirt.

Except there was no shirt, nor had it rolled up Nasir's back. Agron broke the kiss and looked over Nasir's shoulder. His shirt was still very much in place, with Agron's hands resting on top of it.

“Are you okay?” Nasir whispered. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

Nope, just going crazy, Agron thought to himself. He pressed kisses along Nasir's jaw. “Fine, just a little nervous.”

“Am I going too fast?”

Agron shook his head. “I'm a little uncomfortable with, you know, from before? Do you mind if I change out of them? I'll put my jeans back on.”

Nasir frowned but suddenly seemed to click what Agron was talking about. “Oh! Of course, yeah. I'm feeling the same. I'll change while you are in the bathroom.” He got up off the bed. “If you need to go back to your hotel and pick up whatever you need to stay over then that's OK.”

Agron grabbed onto the out offered him with both hands. “I think that would be a great idea,” he smiled. “But I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe I'll pick up something for us on the way?”

Nasir laughed. “Like what?”

“Oh, I don't know.” Agron grinned and gently pulled Nasir into his arms. “But something for us both to enjoy tonight.”

Nasir sighed happily and pressed a kiss to Agron's lips. “Hurry back, okay?”

“Just call me Quicksilver,” Agron grinned. He kissed Nasir once more, pulled on his boots and rushed out of the room.

He had to get a grip before he returned to Nasir. They had so little time left together that he wasn't going to waste a second, but his journey back to the hotel was practical as well as a much needed break for him to order thoughts.

What he was seeing wasn't real. There was no stone walls or tallow candles, or belts criss-crossing across his chest. The sheets were not rough homespun or furs, nor had he seen Nasir shirtless let alone naked, though that vision was one he wanted to hold on to until he saw the real thing. It didn't matter why he was experiencing these odd moments, the important thing was they did not get in the way more than they had already.

Duro sat up quickly as he entered the room. “I thought you were staying with Nasir tonight.”

“I am.” Agron grabbed his bag and a fresh change of clothes. “But it wasn't planned and I need to pack some things.”

“Can't you have a one night stand like a normal person?” Duro laughed.

“He's not a one night stand,” Agron snapped. “He--”Agron shook his head as words that were far to early to contemplate filled his head.

“He's a rebound, Agron.” Duro lay back on his bed. “It's just a holiday fling so have fun with it. I won't expect you back until we need to go to the airport, in fact, if I see you before then I will personally beat you black and blue.”

Agron threw a balled up pair of socks at his brother. “Stop talking like that. He is special and he's not a rebound.” Suddenly, he had a lightbulb moment. “And that's why I am seeing things!”

“Wait, you're seeing things?”

“Yeah, like the walls changing or candle light, and I've been hearing stuff too. But its all just self sabotage, isn't it? Because this thing with Nasir could be good, really good.”

“Is that why you freaked out in Capua too?”

Agron shrugged and went into the bathroom to grab his toothbrush. He turned and yelped when he almost walked into Duro who was leaning against the door frame.

“I think you need to see a doctor.”

“Don't be stupid,” Agron rolled his eyes. 

“I'm not. What you are talking about could be any number of thing, some of them serious.” Duro shook his head sadly. “I knew I should have taken you to hospital yesterday.”

“You're overreacting!”

“You didn't see how you acted yesterday!” Duro snapped. “I couldn't get any sense out of you for hours! All you did was cry and scream in a different language and you kept saying my name over and over again. This is not normal.”

“It was a blip,” Agron growled. “I'll see you at some point tomorrow.” He pushed past his brother and threw his toothbrush in his bag.

Duro moved between him and the hotel room door. “And what if you have an episode in front of Nasir?”

Agron glared. Though he feared that himself he refused to let his brother know. “That is not going to happen.”

“But how do you know?” Duro grabbed him by the upper arms. “Brother, please, just talk to a doctor, let them check you over, and when you know everything is fine then you can get it on with Nasir as much as you want.”

“Or I go back to Nasir now and deal with this when we get back home?”

Duro chewed his lip and stepped back. “Okay. It's your health and you know best.” He opened the door and motioned for Agron to leave. 

Agron stepped through, bashing into his brothers shoulder as he went. As they connected his vision flashed and, for a moment, he saw sand stretched out before him, men dressed in nothing but what looked like crude y-fronts and odds and ends of armour, and his brothers loud cursing echoed in his ears, though the accent didn't seen quite right, nor did the shape of the words. Suddenly, he was back in the hotel room but Duro's hand rested on his chest.

“It happened again, didn't it?” Duro whispered.

The wide eyed fear his brother displayed was enough to steal any lie he had considered and he nodded. 

“You are coming with me to the hospital, no arguments.”

Agron's eyes filled with tears as he let his brother lead him from the room. His heart pounded in his chest, racing behind his ribs in a way he had never felt before. His brother was right, something was wrong.

The car they had hired for their trip to Capua was still parked in one of the few spots reserved outside the hotel for guests. Duro bundled him into the passenger seat and shout at his phone to get directions to the nearest hospital. Agron wiped hastily at his eyes. 

Duro squeezed his knee. “Don't worry, we'll find out what's going on.”

“It could take months!” Agron hissed. “I'm not going to see him again, am I?”

“He's expecting you back there tonight. We can stop by his hotel and bring him with us?”

Agron laughed. “Of course! Who wouldn't want to come on a fun trip to see if the stranger they were fooling around with hours ago is a psycho.”

Duro punched Agron's shoulder without taking his eyes from the road. “You are not a psycho! You just...have...something going on right now. You need to tell him you are not going to be there tonight. Not in the next few minutes anyway.”

“And what the fuck am I supposed to tell him?”

“Well, if he's as special as you say he is,” Duro glanced over quickly then returned his eyes to the road. “I suggest telling him the truth.”

Agron bit his tongue hard to stop him swearing at his brother. There was no way he was calling Nasir and telling him what was really going on. He'd have to think of some sort of excuse and, hopefully, not hurt Nasir more than he already had in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told you it would get weird.
> 
> I really haven't planned this out. I have a few bits I keep thinking over but no concrete story as such, so if this stops making coherent sense, which I think it already has, then apologies :)


	8. The Right Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir receives a phone call that quickly ruins his night

asir showered, got dressed once more, and then waited for Agron to return. After about half an hour of scrolling through his phone he turned on the TV to distract him further. 

Was it too soon to text? Agron's hotel was not far away and he should be back by now, but maybe he had got talking to Duro, or, maybe, he had been jumped and left for dead in some back alley.

He sent a text to Agron, a simple, light hearted enquiry to make sure he was okay without seeming like he was worrying but he was already worried and had been since not long after Agron left.

Nasir was used to those kind of thoughts. The worry when none was needed. The anxiety over things he had nothing to do with. The crushing self doubt over every little thing. But he was getting better.

At least, he thought he was.

There was a certain stress involved in travelling alone for the first time, and Nasir's family and doctor had warned that putting himself in the way of so many new things at once could see a resurgence in old problems he had worked so hard to overcome, and they were right. He had dismissed it when it happened at the Colosseum, believing dehydration to be the real culprit, but then the dreams had started, then the flashes of sounds and smells, and then all he kept seeing when he should have been thinking only of Agron as they kissed was visions of a different room, different lighting, a different Agron.

Maybe Agron had noticed. Nasir had tried his hardest not to react but it was difficult not to flinch when your bed changed under you or you could smell candles when none were lit.

Nasir threw himself back on the bed and sighed. Agron wouldn't be the first guy to run because of Nasir's problems, and it was best he left now before he experienced one of the scarier moments like the one that had finally sent him into therapy.

A loud vibration startled him from the depths of his thoughts. He grabbed his phone before it fell from the bedside cabinet and answered.

“Agron?!”

“Um, yes, it's me,” Agron said. “I...I'm sorry...”

Nasir frowned. Agron's voice sounded thick, like he had been crying. “Are you okay?” The only answers were a few deep breaths. “Agron?!”

“Duro and I have to go back to Germany tonight,” Agron mumbled. “I'm sorry I...” 

A lump rose in Nasir's throat at the loud sniff from Agron. “Has something happened?”

“Something, uh, something happened back home, family stuff. We need to go back right now.”

“Of course, yeah.” Nasir swallowed hard. “I hope everything is okay.”

“Me too. Well I...I have to go. I'm sorry about all this.”

“Please text me when you get back home,” Nasir blurted out and immediately regretted it. “If you have time, of course. I know there will be a lot going on.”

“I think... I think it would be best if we didn't have any more contact,” Agron mumbled, his voice so quiet that Nasir strained to hear him.

“Oh! Sorry. I thought...” Nasir stopped talking, unable to find the words to continue.

“It was so nice to have met you, and I will always remember this week with you, but things happened tonight for a reason an--”

“Your cutting of ties with me because I didn't fuck you?!” Nasir snapped.

“What? No! I just mean that... Well, it's good, isn't it, that things didn't go further with us when I have to rush home.”

“But this doesn't have to end here. I thought we talked about it.”

An angry hiss of German was just loud enough to be heard on the other end of the phone. It went on for a moment before Agron spoke once more. “I'm sorry, Nasir. I didn't mean to hurt you at all, but it has only been a week of our lives. I...I don't see any point in dragging it out.”

“I guess not, no!” He hung up and threw his phone across the room.

A few moments later it buzzed again. He held off as best he could but eventually crossed the room and picked it up once more. He laughed when he saw who the message was from.

I am so so sorry. Don't listen to him! Give him a day or two and text him.

It was from Duro. Nasir drafted several texts, each one more nasty than the next but in the end he decided silence was best. Duro had done nothing apart from maybe push his brother into starting something he wasn't quite comfortable with. But where had all that talk come from? The feeling like they knew each other? The romantic words?

Fuck! Now he was crying, over a stupid fling that had ended with both of them coming too soon and his supposed lover tearing off into the night on a gossamer thin excuse. It was nothing! Less than nothing. A holiday fling that was never supposed to stretch past the end of their time in Rome together.

So why did it hurt so much?!

His feelings had been right! In those last few moments before Agron left, a deep anxiety had settled in him, a fear that came with the irrational thought that when Agron had left last time something terrible had happened. A thing that involved blood and pain. He had dismissed it, knowing Agron had never left before, save to go back to his hotel at night, and nothing terrible had ever happened. Well, now it had, possibly in Agron's family, if that wasn't a lie of course.

Lacking even the energy to call Naevia, Nasir curled up in bed, head buried in the pillow, and let the tears flow when he could no longer hold them back.

#

Agron's jaw throbbed from the slap Duro delivered. He couldn't even bring himself to raise arms in defence when Duro shoved him.

“You are a fucking idiot!” Duro roared.

“Quiet!” Agron glanced around them but the hospital car park was empty. “You'll get us arrested.”

“Why did you lie to him?”

“I am not telling someone I have known for a week that I am going crazy!” Agron snarled.

Duro rolled his eyes. “You are not going crazy. You have have something up with your mental health or maybe something physically wrong, or, maybe, this whole thing is just stress. You need to get it checked out and Nasir needed to know you weren't going to be there tonight, but to cut him off like that?” Duro's face seemed to morph through several emotions at once. “How could you?!

“If you like him so much then you go see him and comfort him.”

Duro raised his fist but quickly dropped it when another car pulled into the lot. “Nasir is really sweet. He didn't deserve that, not after tonight.”

Agron scrubbed his hands wearily over his face. “I didn't fuck him!”

“You gave him hope that things would carry on after we went back home and then you snatched it away. Fuck the physical stuff!”

Agron grabbed his brother by the shoulders. “Enough!” He hissed. “You are shouting and raving in a foreign language, how do you think that looks?”

Duro chewed his lip for a moment. “What if you broke his heart, Agron?”

“Its been a week!” Agron sighed, exasperated. “We barely know each other.”

Duro shook his head and wandered away from his brother. Agron ran to catch up. “You don't think... Not after a week?”

“Well how do you feel right now?”

Agron thought on it for a moment. “Scared, mostly.”

“And when you think about Nasir?”

It was painful to recall his face or the sound of his voice but Agron did and the images returned all jumbled up with visions of another Nasir, with the same beautiful face and warm eyes but too many other differences to count.

Duro stepped so close to his brother they were nose to nose. “You are a fucking idiot,” he whispered. All the fire had left him to be replaced with weariness and disappointment and it hurt worse.

“I had no choice!” Agron hissed. “This was the best way when I don't know what's going to happen.” He gestured towards the hospital.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Duro muttered, and left Agron standing alone once more.

Agron followed after a few moments. He had not made the choice lightly, but to invite a lasting connection with Nasir when he had no idea what was going on inside his head was ludicrous.  
It was for the best. It stung like hell and the thought he had hurt Nasir made it even worse, but he had done the right thing!

And if he could keep telling himself that lie he just might end up believing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as i have stated before I am really writing this without too much of a plan, which is normal for me if im honest. I don't do a lot of plotted out stories. But this was built from such a flimsy bit of an idea spurred by the gifset that it really is flying by the seat of your pants kinda stuff. Hence why Nasir has now been experiencing this kind of thing all his life, to the point he was treated for it.
> 
> Anyways, i hope this chapter isnt too weird and that bringing in a mental health angle is not wildly changing the tone of the story. As it wont ruin the story, I can say that it isn't hallucinations, they are experiencing past life echoes, but more on that next time :)


	9. A shared Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron agonises over his treatment of Nasir and the medical tests he has to go through while Nasir must make a difficult choice.

As children Duro was always the one in and out of hospital.

He was sick a lot with various different ailments, some life threatening, like the pneumonia he contracted at five years old, some not as serious but longer lasting, and through all of it Agron had been with him, sitting by his bedside and telling jokes. When Duro's health was at it's worst and they feared he may die, Agron had lain in the hospital bed beside him, carefully avoiding tubes and wires that measured every beat and breath his brothers body laboured through, and only moved from his side when medical care demanded it.

Now, just two years later, the roles were reversed, though the situation was not serious enough for his brother to lie in the hospital bed with him, not when the nurses would have told him off for it.

“They can't really do much overnight when it's not a dire emergency,” Duro whispered. He was curled up in the large chair beside the bed. A nurse had been kind enough to give him a pillow and a blanket but had stressed that adults usually did not have someone staying overnight with them.

“Then they should have let us go home,” Agron mumbled.

“They are monitoring you, plus we need to wait for the blood work to come back too.” Duro yawned. “Try to sleep, okay? There's not much else we can do.”

Agron rolled onto his back. There were scans lined up tomorrow, and possibly more blood work, and more talking to doctors in English when neither of them had it as a first language. There was nothing he could do. He just had to wait, let them poke and prod at him as they pleased, and then deal with the outcome.

It would be easier with Nasir here. The thought was sudden and unbidden, but it was true. All he wanted was to rewind a few hours, back to when he had buried his face against Nasir's neck and all had been safe and warm, even with the visions fighting their way into his head. But he would never be able to do that again.

His brother had been right. He was a fucking idiot who had had an innocent man for no good reason. If he had told the truth then maybe Nasir would be by his side now. Sure, they had only known each other a short time but it felt like they had known each other their whole lives and shared a whole lifetime of experiences. And what about all the things they had said to one another? They both felt the connection, the strange comfortable pleasure of each others company. But it was too late now. He had thrown it all away in fear.

“I think I love him,” he blurted out.

There was silence for a moment before Duro spoke. “Say that again?”

“I think I'm in love with Nasir.” He whispered the words this time but as soon as they were out in the open it was as if he had known what the feeling was all along.

“And you dumped him the way you did?”

Agron laughed bitterly. “I have known him about a week! You can't fall in love after a week.”

“But you just sai--”

“I know what I said but it's wrong, isn't it?” Agron scrubbed his hands over his face. “I should maybe wait until they decide whether I'm crazy or not before I start declaring my love for strangers.”

Duro sighed. “And what if he is the one?”

“The one?” Agron wanted to laugh, instead, he considered it. “Maybe he is. But that changes nothing! We can't start a relationship like this. I won't put him through it!”

“And if he was the one that was ill?”

Agron shrugged. “Then it would be up to him if he wanted me there or not.”

Duro shifted around in the armchair, trying to get more comfortable. “So you love this man, there is a good possibility he loves you too and that he's the one, and you are going to let all of this slip away because of a health scare.”

“He's young. He'll get over it and find someone else, probably on this trip if anyone has any sense.” A image flashed through his head, of Nasir's face contorting with anger then sorrow as Agron made his case for leaving him behind, but like so many things he thought of in the last few days there was too much wrong with the picture for him to take real notice. “He's gorgeous inside and out and he'll find someone who'll love him like he deserves.”

Duro sighed angrily. “You know what I'm going to say, don't you?”

“That I'm a fucking idiot?” Agron said. “Do you not think things would be different if I had a choice? He won't want to be with someone who spent the whole time they were hooking up hallucinating!”

Duro shrugged. “I think he may have wanted to make that choice himself is all.”

“Well, tough shit,” Agron grumbled. He rolled over, putting his back to his brother. “It's done.”

“It doesn't have to be. You can call him, explain yourself. Either he understands and you two can patch things up or things carry on as they are now, but either way you will know.”

Agron closed his eyes tight against the impending tears. “I don't want to hurt him, not anymore than I've had to already.”

Duro let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright. You have clearly made up your mind.”

Agron nodded, not that his brother could see it. But he hadn't so much made up his mind as had to live with the consequences of actions he had already taken.

#

Nasir had slept in fitful little bursts not helped by his phone ringing in the middle of the night. He had no desire to speak to Duro but now that it was early morning and he was faced with a long voicemail...

Against his better judgement he listened to the message. He recognised the brothers voices immediately but they were speaking in German, and their voices were slightly muffled. Even if Duro had butt-dialled him and left the message by mistake, Nasir wanted a full translation.

“I was hoping you'd call,” Duro said quietly when he answered.

“What the fuck is going on. You're aware your brother dumped me in spectacular fashion less than twelve hours ago, right?”

“Didn't you hear my message?”

“I don't speak German, Duro!” He snapped. 

“He lied to you, Nasir. We are not going back to Germany, Agron and I spent last night in the hospital.”

Nasir's throat constricted. “What happened? Ate you both okay?”

There was a pause then Duro's voice returned in a harsh whisper. “He didn't want to tell you since you haven't known each other very long, but I think you deserve to make the decision yourself, and if you do decide you don't want to see him again then no judgement.”

“Just tell me what's going on!” Nasir hissed against the lump in his throat.

“Agron's been seeing and hearing things for the past few days and while we were in Capua he had a breakdown of some sort. Couldn't get any sense out of him for hours! That's why he didn't call you that day.”

The whole world seemed to tilt. “He... he's been seeing things?”

“Yeah. And he didn't want to tell you because he thinks something serious is going on like a brain tumor or that they are going to lock him up for being crazy.”

“What have they said?” Nasir could barely speak. His heart raced painfully in his chest. What were the odds that someone he met randomly from a whole other country was possibly suffering from the same thing he did?”

“Nothing yet. I know it's a lot to ask but will you come see him, please? Run the message through a translator and you'll see what he said. Please, Nasir. My brother is amazing at self sabotage. I can't let him do it to himself again.”

“I...” There was nothing Nasir wanted more than to rush to Agron's side but Agron had cut things off for a reason, even if they were stupid. “I don't think it's a good idea.”

“I understand,” Duro sighed. “At least you know the truth now.”

Nasir stared at his phone long after they hung up. Eventually, he grabbed a paper and pen and listened to the message Duro had left over and over again. It was too muffled for him to make out much of anything. He only had Duro's words to go on, but why would he lie about Agron being ill?

And if he was lying how would he know anything about the visions? Nasir hadn't told either of them, nor anyone else outside of family and Naevia about his mental health problems. It would be a hell of a coincidence if Duro was making things up.

But Agron didn't want him anywhere near him! After only six days in each others company they were barely friends let alone anything else. There was every possibility that, under normal circumstances, they would have slept with each other, made all sorts of promises as they parted company, then not really stayed in contact. But there was also the chance they would have stayed in contact, flown to see each other. Maybe, eventually, one of them would have moved to the others country, or they both would have moved somewhere new together. Maybe, one day, they would have gotten married, or even without marriage spent every day of their lives together.

Nasir chewed his lip. Even if he didn't want to start things up with Agron again didn't he owe it to himself to get to the bottom of the visions story? Wasn't the connection he had shared with Agron over the past few days enough to prompt Nasir to share his own experience and help him?

Was Nasir really prepared to divulge all his crazy in front of a man who barely knew, a man who rejected him, even if it was a misguided way of protecting Nasir?

In truth, he had no idea.

#

Duro had been cagey all the way back to the hotel, constantly checking his phone, and talking in that weird, excited way he did when something was up. Maybe it was the “inconclusive” diagnosis Agron got at the hospital? Duro did have a habit of babbling as a distraction when he was nervous.

“I should probably try calling the doctor today and get an appointment for when we get back home,” Agron said half to himself as they walked the short distance from the car park to the hotel.

“Good idea.” Duro looked around as he spoke. “And we need to pack too. Our flight is at three tomorrow.”

“I remem--” Agron stopped mid sentence. Was this another vision? If so it was different from the other ones. This vision was dressed in modern clothes.

Nasir pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against and approached them slowly. “I hope you don't mind me showing up. I know you don't want to see me any more.”

“No, that's not it,” Agron muttered. “It's not that I don't wan--”

“Why don't we go inside and talk,” Nasir said, cutting him off. “I think we have a lot to discuss and out on the street is not the place to do this.”

Agron glanced at Duro who gave him a nervous smile. “I'll be back in about two hours. Talk to him and sort this out.”

“You knew about this, didn't you?” Agron said to his brother.

Duro did nothing but smile.

“He called me,” Nasir said flatly. “Please, can we talk?”

Agron whispered a thank you to his brother and, with his heart hammering in his chest, led Nasir into the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not overly happy with this chapter, and I sort of feel like I should have left them apart longer, but, really, their seperation and discovery that they both have visions is not the meat of the story. Its the why.
> 
> I should have the next chap up really soon because I've been looking forward to writing it for a while. Plus, we get to learn a wee bit more about Nasir.


	10. Do I remind you of someone you've never met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Nasir discover there are more similarities than they ever imagined with their hallucinations

Nasir glanced at his watch. Less than twenty-four hours ago he had ridden up in a similar elevator with his heart pounding in his chest and the delicious tingle of anticipation surging through him. Now, his heart was still pounding, but it was anxiety coiling deep in his stomach.

Agron didn't look at him, not even once they got to his room. Nasir hung back near the door as Agron hastily moved clothes from the beds and shook out the blankets in a hasty attempt to make the room presentable. 

“Sorry, we left in a hurry,” Agron muttered, his eyes still downcast. “Um, sit wherever you like. Would you like something to drink.”

“I'm fine.” Nasir pulled the desk chair out and sat down. “Can you stop fussing, please!”

Agron dutifully sat down on his bed. “I am so so sorry.”

“I get that you didn't want me to know you're sick, we don't know each other very well, but why did you cut off everything?” Nasir fought to keep his voice calm despite wanting to shout.

Agron shrugged. “It seemed the best way. I didn't know what the hospital were going to say, and if I am sick then is that any way to start a relationship?”

Nasir chewed his lip for a moment. “You could have told me what was going on.”

“Would you have told me if you were going crazy?”

Nasir growled, crossed the room to sit on Duro's bed, grabbed Agron's face, and forced him to look him in the eyes. “This doesn't make you crazy! It's a mental health condition and it can be controlled with medication and therapy. It's not the end of the world, far from it, so stop acting like you are going to drop dead any second!”

“The hospital said they couldn't figure out what was wrong!”

“Which means you have probably had a CT scan, maybe an MRI and they found nothing. There is no unusual markers in your blood. No counts are off. You didn't take a blow to the head recently either.” Nasir let him go and sat back. “Did they run drug checks? Make sure you weren't on something?”

Agron frowned. “Um... yeah. It was one of the first things. I don' thin--”

“They believed you when you said you hadn't taken anything,” Nasir said, finishing his sentence.

“How do you know all this?” Agron said.

“Because...” Well, here it was. Did he lie to Agron knowing he would have to come clean eventually if they remained friends or did he divulge his deepest secret to someone he barely knew. “Because I see things too, always have.”

Agron's face moved through several different emotions before settling on a confused frown. “You see things?”

“Yup,” Nasir said flatly. He was already regretting his choice. “And I know it's scary right now but there are ways to manage it.”

“But it never stops?”

Nasir sighed. “No. But I can go for months without the slightest little thing happening.”

Agron nodded. “Can... can I ask what kind of things you see?”

“I don't just see things.” Nasir picked at a loose thread on the blanket. “I sometimes hear things. I get phantom tastes and smells too.”

“That's what I get!” Agron exclaimed. “Like last night, when we were in your room, I could smell candles all the time and like this weird old house smell, you know, the dusty smell that's in the ruins here?”

Nasir's heart skipped a beat. “You... you what?”

“You kept changing too,” Agron sighed. “I tried to ignore it. I wanted so badly for things to go well for us.” He looked Nasir directly in the eye for the first time since Nasir had forced him to do it. “I would give anything to rewind back to last night and spend the night warm in your arms.”

Nasir forced a smile. Agron had smelled the candles too? Was it possibly not an hallucination and they had been burning somewhere? But that didn't explain the same dusty scent Nasir had picked up. “What did you see last night?”

“Um,” Agron frowned. “I'm sorry I...I shouldn't be talking like we are still... well, we were never dating..but...”

Nasir grabbed Agron's hands. “That's not important right now. What did you see!” 

“I...well I saw you...um... naked. The walls kept changing to old stone.” He shook his head. “I often hallucinate when I am with you but you look different. Oh, and the bed kept changing.”

Nasir could barely hear Agron over the pounding of his heart. There was no way this was happening. Agron had heard about his visions somewhere, Maybe he knew his older brother and this was all just a joke. It made more sense than he and Agron seeing the same thing!

He flinched when Agron touched his knee.

“Nasir? What's wrong?”

“This is joke, isn't it?” Nasir sighed. 

“No, it's not a joke,” Agron snort a laugh. “Why would I pretend?”

“who put you up to it? Was it Ahmed?”

“Who the hell is Ahmed?”

Nasir fought for breath. “So you jus.. you just happen to have the exact same disorder I do and also experience the same shit?” Nasir snapped. 

“Nasir! I just found out that you see things too. Why would I make this up?”

“You want me to believe we are actually seeing the same things?”

“Wait, what?”

If Agron was lying he was expert level at it. So that meant the truth was.... Nasir shook his head and started pacing the floor. “No! No this shit just isn't happening. It's all too weird.”

“Are you serious?” Agron mumbled. “You saw the walls change too?”

“And I could smell the candles! I saw you naked too. Well, not fully naked. You had--”

“Arm cuffs?” Agron closed his hand around his own wrist. “And you had a necklace with, uh, I have no other way to say this, a necklace with dicks on it. Wooden ones! Not dismembered ones.”

Nasir laughed. He had no idea where it came from or what was so funny but once he started he couldn't stop and soon tears were running down his face as he tried to catch his breath. After a moment Agron joined in and soon both of them were helpless with laughter.

“All my life I thought I was mental,” Nasir said through his laughter. “But it's worse than that, isn't it?”

“How do you mean?”

Nasir took a deep breath and managed to slow his laughter a little. “Do... do you ever get feelings about people, like you knew them before?”

“Well, yes, with you,” Agron said. He held out his hand.

After a moments hesitation Nasir took it and sat on the bed with him. It was a little easier to breathe now. “What about with anyone else?”

Agron appeared to think for a moment. “Some people, yes. Friends from school mostly, and my ex. But none of those connections were as powerful as with you.”

Nasir squeezed Agron's hand. “You don't have to say things like that.”

“But it's true. Ever since that day in the square, when I first saw you I...” Agron laughed quietly and looked away. “Maybe that's how we know each other?”

Nasir grinned. “That's exactly how we know each other. We hadn't ever met before then.”

“Or had we?”

Nasir laughed but stopped when Agron didn't join in. “You mean we...knew each other before? In a past life?”

“It would explain why we see the same version of each other, wouldn't it? That's more than something our brains are making up.”

As crazy as it sounded, Nasir had to agree. “It would explain it I guess.”

Agron grinned. “You don't even believe that enough to show it on your face.”

Nasir shrugged. “I'm not settling on any one explanation yet. But, and I can't believe I am saying this, I am willing to explore this option.” He fished his phone out of his pocket with shaking fingers. “We're going to see just how many things we both have seen, or that we both remember.”

Agron's whole body seemed to sag with relief and he grinned. “Great idea!”

Nasir smiled back but he didn't feel it. Weird things were happening for sure, but Agron had thrown his weight behind a way out of admitting he had mental health problems far too easily. Maybe Nasir was being cruel in indulging him rather than helping him deal with what was going on, but he couldn't ignore the shared visions and the strong connection they shared.

He pushed his worries to the back of his mind and began noting down all Agron could remember about his visions and dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh... 
> 
> this felt clunky and that they didn't have enough of a reaction to what was going on, but I honestly can't think of another way to write it.
> 
> Meh.. onto the next one i guess


	11. The Family Legend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir decides he needs a new perspective on his visions if he ever hopes to get answers and Agron turns to an old family legend for help

So this was what whiplash felt like?

Agron lurched from one emotional extreme to the other as he and Nasir slowly tracked their hallucinations. The elation he had first felt upon learning that he and Nasir shared his affliction quickly died away to fear and confusion as more and more similarities reared their ugly heads. 

Sure, the chances of him suffering from a brain tumour or some sort of misfiring in his brain were slim, but now they were facing a bigger problem. How exactly had they both ended up dreaming the same thing? And how, out of the seven billion people on earth, did they happen to find each other?

Agron watched Nasir closely. He too seemed to be moving through a wide set of emotions, but unlike Agron none appeared to be happy ones. Twice, when they had lapsed into silence, Agron had taken his hand. Nasir had allowed the contact the first time but snatched his hand back the second time.

As much as he wanted to erase the damage he had caused, it was too much to expect everything to go back to the way it was before he had lied about the hospital visit.

At some point during their discussion Duro arrived back. Nasir immediately stopped talking.

“How are things going?” Duro said tentatively. His gaze moved between Agron and Nasir. “I can come back later.”

“No it's fine,” Nasir said. His smile seemed tight. “I should really be going. You two have had a long day and I need to get packed for leaving tomorrow.”

“But what are we going to do about all this?” Agron asked. “We can't just leave this the way it is.”

Nasir chewed his lip until it was bloodied. “I need to think about things, okay?”

“Bu--”

“Just give me some fucking space, Agron!” Nasir snapped. “You're not the only one who has shit to deal with.” He waved stiffly to Duro. “Thanks for calling, Duro. Goodnight.”

Without uttering another word, Nasir left. Agron tried to follow but Duro closed the door once more.

“Leave him,” he soothed. “He came to see you today, that's a good thing. Don't smother him now.”

Agron started to speak but remembered it wasn't just his secrets he would be revealing. “You're right. We still have each others numbers. Maybe we will keep in touch.” He wandered back to bed and sat down heavily.

“Did you tell him you loved him?” 

Agron laughed. “I'm not a total fucking idiot.”

Duro smiled. “You should have, maybe he loves you too?”

Agron rolled his eyes. “Didn't you just say not to smother him?”

“Yes, and I meant by following him when he clearly just wanted to get out of here.” Duro stretched out on his bed. A smile played on his lips. “I still think he's the one for you.”

Agron threw a pillow at his brother. “Get a damn hobby. Or your own damn love life.”

Duro laughed and threw the pillow back. “You know I'm right. I saw the look in your eyes when you first saw him. You've had it bad since day one.”

“You are conveniently forgetting the last twenty-four hours,” Agron sighed.

Duro fell silent for a moment. “He came here, didn't he?”

“Yeah, he did,” Agron said, more to shut his brother up than anything else. He couldn't exactly tell Duro that Nasir had turned up for completely different reasons to what Duro thought without betraying Nasir further in the process.

How Agron felt and what Duro thought was irrelevant. Whatever he and Nasir had shared a mere day ago had been irrevocably changed. If Nasir did decide to keep in touch with him then it would no doubt be because of the unexplained visions they appeared to share and not for any romantic reasons.

#

Nasir had learned lots of coping mechanisms over his lifetime.

His most used, as it worked best for him when he was at his worst, was to lie in a bath with the water as close to body temperature as possible with his ears submerged and with the lights off. It was a cheap version of a sensory deprivation tank and other than the time he had scared his mum half to death when she had stumbled across him lying in the water in the dark, it worked wonders. It hurt no one, not even himself, unlike some coping mechanisms he had turned to in the past, and it was the only one that took over his entire body leaving him with weightless silence. 

Well, as much as someone could achieve in a bathtub.

It wasn't working as well as normal this time, but given what he was working with Nasir was glad of any kind of calming of his breathing. His closed eyes stung and his chest and throat still burned with sobs barely stopped. The usual words he would go through to calm his mind weren't working this time because there is no way of rationalising himself out of his visions when someone else saw them too.

The easiest explanation was that Agron was playing a cruel prank, but Nasir had carefully not given up details first, but waited for Agron to speak and only confirmed a few of the things they had both seen. Despite this, and Nasir lying once or twice about shared visions, what Agron had dreamed or experienced matched Nasir's own on more occasions than coincidence could allow for.

So now what?

Nasir tried to empty his mind but whenever he pushed questions away images rushed in. He could no longer work out if he had actually seen Agron in his visions before meeting him or if his brain was cruelly slotting him in for further confusion. Finally, with his mind still racing but his body feeling more relaxed, he sat up in the bath, wrung the water from his hair, then reached for his phone.

Perhaps it was time to stop treating his visions like a delusion to be ignored and controlled but as a mystery to be solved, and Nasir was sure there were enough things he remembered to start piecing the puzzle together.

#

Agron couldn't sleep. His mind was racing over too many things but one kept resurfacing. The family legend.

The family legend was tied to the stories of Spartacus and his rebellion. Agron had heard it from his father first of all, then other relatives on that side of his family and had forged a love of history through it, but after being ridiculed at school for announcing his connection to the rebellion through an ancestor he was named after, who appeared in no stories or legends in any language, he cast it aside with other childish things.

Duro had not. Duro embraced his supposed heritage with gusto despite his own name sake disappearing without note just before the gladiators broke out from the ludus and the very real possibility he had died before things had properly begun. He had devoured any piece of literature, history lecture, or piece of media about the legend of Spartacus and still loved it, though all legends lacked their names. He adored it so much that he had managed to persuade his sceptical brother to travel all the way to Rome and then onto Capua to see where their famous ancestors had supposedly walked.

And Duro had been proven right, hadn't he? There was some connection to Capua that both men had felt. They had also experienced uneasiness on the drive to the city, which took them along a route where the remains of Spartacus' army had been crucified if legend held true. And now Agron was experiencing visions along with Nasir, a name that also appeared in his family stories.

There was no way to bring it up to Duro without sharing secrets that were Nasir's, and to mention out of the blue that he thought his visions were linked to the family legend wouldn't go down well, not when they had just spent several hours in a hospital to explore why Agron was hallucinating.

Agron needed an explanation, which meant research into something no one believed in and staying on in Italy to explore places that triggered visions in him and, with his flight due to leave tomorrow afternoon, he could not stay on without his brother noticing. He had to say something.

His phone rang, interrupting his train of thought. It was Nasir. Agron hurriedly answered.

“I have no right to ask you this,” Nasir whispered. “Especially not in the middle of the night when you are probably trying to sleep and still stressed.”

“I'm wide awake,” Agron reassured him. “Ask me.”

“Is there any way you can stay on in Italy? No, forget it. Its stupid. You have work to get back to I'm sure, and the rest of your li--”

“Nasir,” Agron cut in. “I was already planning on staying. And I'm my own boss. I can return when I want.”

The hairs on the back of Agron's neck rose. Duro was surely looking at him after that comment.

“You... you are?” Nasir breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, but this isn't some...some romantic holiday. We have a right to find out why this is happening to us, don't we? And that means finding answers together.”

Agron's heart sank but, in truth, it was a little strange to actively seek a relationship with a man he seemed so linked to. Almost too forced. “You think the answers are here?”

“I think they could be. We met here. My hallucinations have gotten worse here, as have yours. I mean, you didn't even recognise them as hallucinations before.”

“I think you are onto something, in fact, I have something to share with you that might help us out.”

“Great! Can you come over now? Or should I come to you? I don't want to disturb Duro.”

“I'll come to you,” Agron said. “There is no point in us lying awake when we could be starting work on this.”

They said their goodbyes and, despite himself, Agron felt warmth spreading in his chest at the thought of spending time with Nasir again. He got out of bed and started packing. Duro watched him for a moment before speaking.

“You're staying here with Nasir?”

“Just for a week or so I imagine.” Agron didn't pause in his packing.

“And what exactly are you looking for, especially when you are sick?”

Agron sighed. “I'm not sick, Duro. And if things get back I will go to the hospital, I promise. But Nasir and I have something we need to work on together.”

“When I said he might be the one and to tell him you love him I meant for you to keep in touch with him not run away with him.”

“I'm not running way,” Agron said with a smile. “Trust me, Duro, this is something I have to do. Keep in touch with me as much as you like but I am not going home tomorrow.”

Duro held his gaze for a moment then nodded. “Alright, but I expect a text every day.”

Agron grinned. “I promise, and if anything happens with this hallucinations I won't ignore it.”

Seemingly satisfied with the answer Duro nodded. “I guess I'll see you in a few weeks then.”

Agron nodded. “I guess so.”

Duro got out of bed and hugged him. Agron held him tight for a few moments then let him go. With nothing else to be said on the matter, Agron got dressed, grabbed his bags, and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dont really have anything to say it just feels wierd not leaving a note, lol, so let me take the time to thank you all for all your comments and kudos so far. It really is very much appreciated :D


	12. Six impossible things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron shares his family legend with Nasir who, although sceptical at first, agrees to check out the possibility their shared visions lie within the legend of Spartacus.

Nasir paced the route from the door to his bed and back again. The decision was correct, Agron had to be included in any exploration of their shared visions or they would never know the true extent of them and perhaps never find an answer. But Nasir just couldn't shake the notion he had taken an out when he had been given it.

Logically, he could not be sharing hallucinations with another human being but, logically, his body shouldn't be able to cripple him with a racing heart and rapid breathing just at the mere thought of imagined disasters. Logically, he shouldn't have been so distressed by his older brother going to college in another country that the only course of action was to hospitalise and sedate him. Those two things and many more had happened, supposedly illogical and impossible things, so much so that Nasir could live the words that the Red Queen had spoken in Alice in Wonderland without even trying.

_”Why, sometimes, I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”_

_The first impossible thing: I am seeing the same visions as a man I knew nothing about a week ago._

He still had five more he could squeeze in before breakfast.

Nasir rushed to the door when Agron knocked and let him in.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I would have been here sooner but the receptionist was reluctant to let me in during the night.” He nodded his head towards the stony faced receptionist who stood by his side.

“We do not normally allow guests in during the night,” she said. “But Mr Schafer said it was important.” Her frown softened as she looked Nasir up and down. “Is everything okay, Mr Al Jassim?”

Nasir glanced quickly at Agron. That was another thing on the very small list of things they knew about one another. “Physically, yes,” he answered, thinking quickly. “But I have got worrying news from the university we work for that my colleague and I must discuss.”

The receptionist sighed heavily. “Very well. Goodnight, and please keep the noise down. Our other guests are trying to sleep.”

Nasir made promises then closed the door. “It's good that they check rather than sending anyone up to another person's room.”

Agron nodded and set his bag down in the corner. “Maybe this could have waited until morning?”

“No, I don't think it can.” Nasir sat down on his bed and motioned for Agron to sit next to him. “I'm sorry I was harsh with you earlier. I was in shock.”

“Understandable. And I'm sorry for what I said too. Of course things can't go back to how they were before all this happened. It's not the same, is it?”

Nasir's heart sank. “It's not that I stopped liking you or stopped being attracted to you.” Heat flooded his face. “It's not even about you asking me not to talk to you any more, I understand that you were scared. I jus... I can't be sure where my feelings for you are coming from.”

Agron nodded. “It's all a little too strange, isn't it?”

The weight in Nasir's chest slowly lifted. “Yes, that's it. I'm not saying I don't like you, because I do. It's jus...”

“Don't worry. There is no more explanation needed.” Agron smiled. “I am not here because I am hoping for things to go back to what they were. I want to get to the bottom of this. It is not some weird game I am playing in the hopes of winning you back.”

Heat flooded Nasir's face. “We kissed a handful of times. There isn't really anything to win back.”

“That last kiss was amazing though, wasn't it?” Agron's grin quickly fell. “Apologies. No more jokes like that.”

“It.. it's okay,” Nasir laughed softly. “Not point in denying what happened. We both know it did and perhaps more would have happened if... anyway, I don't regret it.”

“Me neither. My actions afterwards are another matter.”

“Let's just start over, okay? A clean slate? You don't need to apologise any more.”

Agron appeared to relax a little at that. “Thank you. I should probably tell you the information I came over in the middle of the night to share.”

The little coils of anxiety started up again in Nasir's stomach but, no matter how he felt, he had to hear what Agron had to say. “Tell me.”

Agron cleared his throat a few times. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally started to talk. “Are you familiar with the story of Spartacus?”

Nasir's heart sank. Of course! People always latched on to the famous ones when they thought they were having past life experiences. “I know a little of it.”

“Well,” Agron shifted around a bit. “My family have always told a story about it. It's where my name comes from actually, and Duro's. The original Agron was apparently a gladiator in the same ludus as Spartacus. He escaped with him and fought in all the battles of their long rebellion. There's all sorts of fantastical crap like how he was supposedly crucified but came back, and how he allegedly died in Crixus' campaign on Rome only to return to fight in the final battle of the Servile war where again he survived and, according to our family, made it over the mountains with his lover.” Agron laughed softly. “He is not mentioned in any history books I have ever found, but not every name is listed, they were slaves after all.”

“You would think a gladiator strong enough to help lead an army against Rome would be remembered though.” Nasir failed to keep the annoyance out of his tone. “It's a nice story, Agron, but--”

“Why can't it be true though?” Agron's voice was far away, like he was talking to himself. He snapped out of it. Perhaps you had an ancestor in Spartacus' army too. Syria was under the Roman empire.”

_The second impossible thing: Someone who barely knows me correctly guesses my nationality rather than saying I am Turkish or Iraqi, like everyone else seems to._

“What makes you think I'm Syrian?” Nasir said with a frown.

Agron blushed and fumbled with his words. “It was an assumption, sorry.”

Nasir smiled, unable to let the man suffer longer. “Well, its a good one. I grew up in Tartus before we moved to the UK.”

“Well, there you go.” Agron's smile was a little tight. “There were Syrian gladiators and slaves, just like ones from Germany and France, all over.”

Nasir held Agron's gaze until he looked away. Why couldn't he shake the feeling that something was not being said. “I don't suppose the family legend happens to mention any such Syrians?”

“There are some names, but none that seemed to be mentioned often.” Agron forced a smile. “Perhaps we should go to Capua. That's where I had my first proper vision. Perhaps there is an answer there for you too?”

Nasir chewed his lip. He had a month long itinerary and had deliberately avoided anywhere too tightly linked to the gladiator general. And yet, his next reservation did bring him close to Agron's suggested destination.

_The third impossible thing: I may be the descendent of a fighter in Spartacus' rebellion._

“I have a three day stay in Naples starting tomorrow.” Nasir said. “I'm hiring a car and driving myself there and to the rest of the places I have booked. You are welcome to stay in my rooms. I'm sure I can upgrade them to twins.”

“Don;t worry about me,” Agron smiled. “I can afford my own room.”

“What about your job. You were only supposed to be here a week.”

Agron shrugged. “That was due to Duro's schedule. I am my own boss. I will my clients to rearrange their training sessions until after we return. I'm sure they won't mind.”

Nasir nodded. There was no getting away from it now. Tomorrow, he would be on his way to Capua, following the trail of a legend that had always made him uneasy.

And maybe that reaction to a thousand year story was reason enough to follow. That and the fact he still had three impossible things to allow himself to believe before breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If i had planned this out from the begining then perhaps the six impossible things would be a running motif throughout the story. As such it may just appear in this chapter, but I do like it :)
> 
> Also Agron's last name was picked deliberately and is a bit of an easter egg for the Nagron fandom if you look up its meaning :)


End file.
